What is Neuralink’s brain chip technology?
The company has designed an electrode-laden computer chip to be sewed into the surface of the brain, and a robotic device to perform the surgery. Musk envisions that the devices could be regularly upgraded.“I’m pretty sure you would not want the iPhone 1 stuck in your head if the iPhone 14 is available,” Musk said at an event in late November, where he predicted Neuralink would begin human trials in six months.
While a significant milestone, a clinical trial for its device in humans is no guarantee of regulatory or commercial success. Neuralink and others are bound to face intense scrutiny by the FDA that their devices are safe and reliable, in addition to facing ethical and security questions raised by a technology that could confer a cognitive advantage to those with an implant.
Meanwhile, he has been devoting much of his time in recent months to Twitter, the social media company heMusk’s frenetic schedule has him juggling commitments to each of the companies at once. He travels the country by private jet, visiting his Tesla factories and SpaceX launch sites and engaging in speaking commitments for Twitter and visiting its Bay Area headquarters — sometimes all in the same week.